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Western Canada's Aerospace Industry Advantage

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"Our company ranks Canada first internationally for access to well-educated workers. We get great people—graduates from first-rate engineering courses offered by Canadian universities."
— Alain M. Bellemare, President, Pratt & Whitney Canada

With annual revenues upwards of $3 billion, Western Canada's aerospace industry is taking off. Throughout the region, an estimated 17,000 people are directly employed in the industry, the majority of them contributing engineering, technical or management expertise. Western Canadian firms specialize in important markets, including

repair and manufacturing of regional and commercial aircraft;
maintenance, repair and overhaul of small gas turbine engines; and
provision of parts and service for flight simulators.

Accounting for 14 per cent of Canada's total $22 billion industry performance, they are a key reason why Canada's aerospace industry is the fourth largest in the world, behind only the United States, Britain and France.

Competitive Strengths

Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)

Proven expertise in large commercial and military transports, regional and business aircraft, helicopters and general aviation aircraft.
Complete nose-to-tail service, covering the entire spectrum of line and heavy maintenance.
Overhaul and modification of complete aircraft, engines and accessories, aircraft structures, systems and components, and avionics and instruments.

MRO Industry Leaders

Standard Aero, headquartered in Winnipeg, is the world's largest independent small turbine engine repair and overhaul company, conducting significant business with the US Air Force, among other aerospace and defence customers.
Field Aviation and 25 other MRO companies in Calgary are working to develop a cluster of expertise in after-market products and services.
Cascade Aerospace in Abbotsford, British Columbia, is one of North America's top 10 MRO organizations and just won a contract valued at up to $423.4 million to provide support for Canada's fleet of C-130 Hercules aircraft.

Aerospace Assemblies, Sub-assemblies and Parts Industry

Manufacturing strengths in primary flight structures, including horizontal and vertical stabilizers, wing and fuselage components, and subassemblies.
Leading-edge capabilities in the fabrication of metal, composites and plastic aircraft components.

Aerospace Assemblies, Sub-assemblies and Parts Leaders

Bristol Aerospace in Winnipeg specializes in the manufacture of aircraft structural components. Bristol Aerospace and the MDA Corporation in Richmond, British Columbia, are the only companies involved in the design and manufacture of small satellites in Canada.
SED Systems in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, has been a leading provider of sophisticated communication systems to the satellite industry for over 20 years. Clients include major satellite operators, manufacturers and broadcasters such as Intelsat, Boeing, Hughes, Lockheed Martin, WorldSpace and the European Space Agency.
Boeing Canada Technology in Winnipeg operates the largest aerospace composite manufacturer in Canada, and is a Tier I and II supplier for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner family of next-generation aircraft.
Avcorp Industries in Delta, British Columbia, is a leading supplier of primary and secondary flight structures, including stabilizers, flight control surfaces, fuselage components and interior panel assemblies.

Why Invest in Western Canada's Aerospace Industry?

Cost-Competitive and Trade-Friendly

Canada's business costs rank as the lowest among the G7 countries with a 6.5-point advantage over the United States, a 13-point advantage over Germany and a 15-point advantage over Japan. Canada's labour and benefit costs are the lowest in the G7. (Source: 2006 edition of KPMG's Competitive Alternatives, a guide to international business costs).

Low-Cost Leaders of Western Canada

Winnipeg is the leading low-cost aerospace manufacturing location among cities in the Midwestern and Pacific regions of North America.

Highly Skilled and Productive Workforce

The value added by employees in aerospace manufacturing was 24 per cent higher than the manufacturing average over the 1993–2003 period. Canada has more post-secondary graduates per capita than any other country, including more than 25,000 engineering and science graduates annually. Western Canada's universities and colleges have internationally recognized programs to train aerospace engineers, aviation technicians and aircraft maintenance engineers.

More Reasons to Invest in Western Canada

Gain access to leading Canadian aerospace multinationals, such as CAE, Bombardier Aerospace and Magellan Aerospace
Work with top-tier original equipment manufacturers, including Avcorp Industries, Standard Aero and Spar Aviation Services
Benefit from generous R&D tax treatments
Profit from low operating and business costs
Gain access to American aerospace companies, such as Boeing in Seattle, Washington, and Cessna in Wichita, Kansas
Springboard into the aerospace manufacturing industry in California

Solid Research and Development Infrastructure

Canadian-based aerospace firms annually invest more than $1 billion in research and development. A network of research and development institutions in Western Canada, which includes the Aerospace Engineering and Test Establishment, contributes to advances in this technology-intensive industry while industry associations in every province support its growth and development.

Western Canada—A Developing Centre of Advanced Technology

British Columbia: capabilities in earth observation and remote sensing
Alberta: an emerging unmanned vehicle systems sector and an active defence electronics sector
Saskatchewan: focus on satellite-based communication systems, products and services
Manitoba: a leader in composites manufacturing and home to the Composites Innovation Centre

A Climate for Growth

In 2003, Brussels-based Asco Industries–a specialist in aircraft components–chose Delta, British Columbia as its base for North American operations. The aerospace company had been searching for a North American location for four years to be closer to major customers that include Avcorp, Bombardier and Boeing. Assisted by the Canadian embassy in Brussels and the provincial government, Asco purchased the Canadian company Ebco Aerospace near Vancouver and renamed it Asco Aerospace Canada Ltd. More recently, ambitious plans to continue to build up Asco's North American presence have seen the parent company invest up to $20 million to modernize and increase the size of the Delta facility, which includes one of the largest five axis gantry profilers in Canada.

"Our goal in creating Asco Aerospace Canada is to grow business with current and new customers in the North American market. We also intend to invest in additional capabilities, such as design and ‘lean manufacturing' techniques, in order to better position ourselves with our clients and to take on new projects for civil and military aircraft." — Christian Boas, President and CEO, Asco Aerospace Canada.